1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to openable covers for truck bodies to protect materials or objects placed in the truck body during shipment, when closed, and to permit unlimited and free access to the interior of the truck body when in an open position. My invention is advantageous wherever the relative dimensions of the materials carried on or in a truck bed/body and the loading and unloading operation are such that it is inconvenient or impossible to gain access to the interior of a completely covered, closed truck body and cover assembly.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The prior art includes:
______________________________________ Patent No. Patentee Issue Date ______________________________________ 2,769,658 Edmonds, Sr. November 6, 1956 COMBINATION CONVERTIBLE TOP AND EXPANSIBLE VEHICLE BODY 3,051,523 Boyce-Smith et al. August 28, 1962 COUNTERBALANCED TRUCK BED LID 3,155,423 Cripe November 3, 1964 LIFTABLE VEHICLE TOP 3,578,378 Anderson May 11, 1971 TELESCOPIC AND PIVOTAL COVER ASSEMBLY FOR OPEN BED VEHICLES 3,840,263 Bowden October 8, 1974 PORTABLE SEAT FOR TRUCK BODIES 3,913,969 Hoch October 21, 1975 TRUCK BODY CLOSURE 3,923,334 Key December 2, 1975 VEHICLE BED COVER ASSEMBLY 3,954,296 Patnode May 4, 1976 COMBINED AUXILIARY CAB AND TONNEAU COVER FOR TRUCK 4,083,596 Robertson April 11, 1978 RAISABLE TOPPER 4,101,162 Koehn July 18, 1978 VERTICALLY SWINGABLE CAMPER SHELL 4,277,098 Gibney July 7, 1981 FOLDABLE TRUCK CAP ASSEMBLY 4,335,916 Gutgsell June 22, 1982 TRUCK BED CAP STRUCTURE 4,420,181 Hallburg December 13, 1983 BOAT-CANOPY FOR TRUCK BEDS 4,498,601 Hill et al. January 15, 1985 HIGH CAPACITY, SELF-UNLOADING FORAGE HOPPER ______________________________________
Included in the known prior art of the patents listed above, are the Koehn U.S. Pat. No. 4,101,162 and the Hoch U.S. Pat. No. 3,913,969. These two patents represent similar attempts to provide an openable cover for a truck body which, when coupled with the various and sundry apparatus and devices for providing adjustably removable or openable covers for truck bodies and the like, are believed to merely serve to illustrate that numerous designs have been attempted to accomplish similar results in substantially different ways, all of which are either more complicated, remain exposed to the weather and possible resulting environmental damage and which may occupy excessive usable space within the volume enclosed by the truck body and cover. The Koehn patent is clearly illustrative of a highly complicated, unreliable apparatus, while the Hoch patent provides all of the operating mechanism exteriorly of the volume enclosed by the truck body and cover whereby the elements of the apparatus are exposed to environmental deterioration or damage.